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No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

-G. P. McGLAS-HAN. RAILWAY BALLooN AND ELEOTRIG TRAMWAY AND TRUCK.

No. 247,571. Patented Sept. 27,1881.

M-QWU 7 A (No Model) 3 Sheets-Shet 2.

0. P. McGLASHAN. RAILWAY BALLOON AND ELECTRIC TRAMWAY AND TRUCK. No.247,571.- A Patented Sept. 27,1881.

(No Mode 7 3 Sheets-Sheet s.

. O. F. MQGLASHAN. RAILWAY BALLOON AND ELECTRIC TRAMWAY AND TRUCK.

No. 247,571. Patented Sept. 27,1881.

D E 7% a a l V j) UNITED STATES A N OFFICE.-

OHARLES F. MGGLASHAN, OF SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA.

RAILWAY-BALLOON AND ELECTRIC TRAMWAY AND TRUCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 247,571, datedSeptember 27, 1881.

Application filed June 24, 1881. (No model) To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that LGHARLES F.MOGLASHAN, of the city and county of SantaBarbara, State of California, have invented an Improved Railway-Balloonand Electric Tramway and Truck;

and I hereby declare the following to be a lull, clear, and exactdescription there0f.

My invention relates to a new tramway and truck, and, in connectiontherewith, it relates port a car and act as r'unning-gearfor it, oritmay be utilized as a guide for a balloon. It may further be used as ameans for connecting anelectric circuit, whereby communication.

may be held with the oarof a balloon or with a moving train.

The main feature is thetra-mway with its peculiar traveling truck! butslight modifications are necessary in both to accomplish the resultsstated. The means for accomplishing the above will be fully set forth inthe course,

of the following description and by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 shows the tramway and truck. Fig. 2 showsits application to a car. Fig. 3 is a modification of.its application toa car. Fig. 4 shows enlarged view of truck. Fig. 5 shows application oftramway and truck to a balloon. Fig. 6 shows itsfurther application toacar.

In Fig.1, let A represent a series of posts or supports covering anydesired distance. From the tops of the posts extend top pieces, B. Theyproject inwardly horizontally and turnnnder and! backward, forming asocket which receives the wires 0 G. Theyare carried downand securedtothe posts. These form supports and braces for the'wires' and hold themout away' from the posts.

composed of two side standards, E E, haying vertical slots m,in whichare journaled groove- In fitting over the wires G. 0 they are made tocoverfaced wheels F. On each side one wheel is above the other. Theouter walls of the standards are severed, as shown at r, and a spaceleft between'the upper periphery of one wheel and the lower periphery ofthe wheel above. The severed ends of the walls of the standards arerounded off, as shown. The two standards are connected by means of thebent arms G,

which are secured to a block, H, at their cen- 6o ters. These arms may,however, be bolted together without the intervention of the block H,except for certain purposes hereinafter shown.

This truck is fitted upon the wires 0 0, Fig.

1, said wires passing between the wheels F, within their grooved'faces,and the open walls ofthe standards toward the outside; The truck canthen'travel along the wires, the inside walls of the standards findingno obstruction, and the outside severed walls passing by the supports orbraces'B without interference.

. The necessityand advantage of this construction is this: By having adouble-wheeled truck, one wheel above the other, it cannot leave thetrack, and it always presents a rollingsurface 'to the track. No upwardstrain can cause itto rise, nor can a side strain'cause it to tip over;but in order to have this kind of a truck the track-wires must besuspended provided withopenings which will allow the 8 truck to pass thesupports, and, being rounded,

- will protect the wheels, and at the same time permit the natural playof the truck when passing them. i

Utilizing this tramway and truck, 1 have shown in Fig. 2 how it can beapplied to a car. 'I can have any suitable number of wheels in eachtruck. I deem it preferable to have eight in each. The cars cannot jumpthe track, and thus the danger attending elevated 9 5 railways isobviated.

In Letters Patent No. 152,145, dated June 16, 1874, issued to me, I showa means for guiding balloons. As an improvement upon the means thereshown, I have shown'in Fig. 5 the appli- 10o cation of this tramway andtruck to this purpose. Let I represent the balloon, having a car, J,

in which is a Windlass, K, which winds up a rope, L, connecting the carof the balloon with the truck D traveling upon the tramway. The rope Lis connected with the central block, H, of the traveling truck. In orderto properly guide and direct the rope L, I have the circular band M,Figs. 4 and 5, attached to the standards of the truck, and the inclinedsemicircular bands N N attached to the top of the standards, and havingtheir ends secured to the band M. When the balloon shifts from side toside the rope will be prevented by the bands N N from meeting with thesharp corners of the standards.

The same efl'ectiveness which characterizes this truck as a car-truckmakes it useful as a traveler for a balloon. It runs smoothly andcannotleavethetrack. Byhaving fourwheels, as here shown, it serves as acheck upon the balloon when it goes too far to one side, because instraining over it binds or cramps the wheels against the wires.

In the application of this tramway to balloons it is obvious that I maymodify both tramway and truck, and yet not change the principle of theinvention, by having only one suspended wire or track and only onestandard containing two wheels. This would reduce the friction and bemore economical in construction.

The tramway and truck here shown, while serving as a means for guidingballoons, will further serve the purpose of acting as a conductor tohold telegraphic communication with the balloon. To accomplish this thewires or rails G 0 must be insulated. This can be done, as shown in Fig.5, where the supports B are covered with appropriate material, such asgutta-percha.

The wires 0 must, of course, be separately insulated, the connectionwith one being through a wire, a, and the connection with the otherthrough a wire, I), at the other; end.

The central block, H, of the truck must be of some non-conductingsubstance, so that the two parts of the truck are kept separate and thecircuit preserved. Wires 0 are attached to the bent connecting-links G,and thence pass up, either within the rope L or beside it, to the car ofthe balloon, and are there attached to a proper instrument. The wires 6are insulated suitably. A circuit is thus made through one of the wiresor rails O and the rolling wheels of the truck, up one wire a to theballoon, and down again through the other wire 0 to the other side ofthe truck, and thence through the wheels on that side and rail or wire 0to the other end. This will be found practicable, because the wheels ofthe truck are always in contact with the wires or rails. If the upperwheels are raised, the lower ones touch, and vice versa. If, however,this were not true, and the circuit were interrupted by the swift motionof the truck, causing the wheels to leave the rail for an instant, I canattach a metal follower to the truck, which would rest upon the railsall the time. This same principle can be further carried out in itsapplication to a moving car. In Fig. 6 I show this. Upon the ground,between the posts A of the tramway, are the ordinary rails, P, of arailway-track. Q represents a car upon them. From the top of the car arope, H, extends to the central block, H, of the truck D above. Thetruck is thus carried along with the car. The wires 0, attached todifferent sides of the truck, pass down through the top of the car tothe instrument within the car. The electric circuit is thus made, sothat telegraphic communication can be held with the moving train, aswith the balloon.

If I should find that the distance between the two lines of posts A istoo great to support the wires 0 O in proper position over the trainwithout making the supports B too long, I could adopt the constructionshown in Fig.3. Here I place beams 5 across the posts A and suspendpieces T therefrom the proper width. Extending horizontally from thesependent rods are the supports B, which sustain the wires 0 C, as before.It will be seen from this description that the main feature ofmyinvention is the elevated tramway, constructed as shown, and thepeculiar truck, whereby it is enabled to pass the supports and yet havesuperposed running wheels, making it a practical safety-truck.

Having this traveling truck and tramway, I am enabled with but themerest modifications to applyit to the various uses herein specified.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The tramway consisting of the lines of posts A, having horizontalinwardly-extendin g supports 13, sustaining parallel horizontal wires ortracks 0 0, combined with the traveling truck D, consisting of theslotted standards E E, carrying rollers or wheels F, with grooved facesadapted to travel upon and under the wires 0 C, said standards havingtheir outer walls orsides severed to form an opening opposite the underperiphery of the upper wheels and the upper periphery of the lowerwheels, and joined together by the arms G, substantiallyas and for thepurpose herein described.

2. The elevated tramway, consisting of the lines of posts A, havinghorizontal supports B, carrying horizontal parallel wires or tracks 0 C,and the truck D, with its side openings, and having rollers or wheels F,adapted to travel upon and under the wires 0 O, in combination with acar or its equivalent, substantially as and for the purpose hereindescribed.

3. The improvement in elevated railways, consistin g in supportinghorizontal parallel tracks by means of horizontal supports extendingfrom vertical posts, and providing a car having trucks the wheels inwhich are adapted to travel upon and under the rails and to pass thehorizontal supports by means of openings or slits in the outer sides ofthe trucks, subeling truck-D, with its slotted standards E E.

having open outer sides and rollers or wheels F, the balloon attached toand guided by the travelingtrnck D by means of the rope L, substantiallyas and for the purpose herein described.

5. The means for establishing telegraphic communication with a balloonor railway-car in motion, consistingof the battery-wires a and I),insulated elevated tramway wires or rails G O, travelingtruck D, withits central insulating block,-H, and insulated wires 0 0, connecting thetraveling truck with the balloon aballoonconsistingin attaching saidballoon to a traveler movingupona tramway, the rails or wires of whichare insulated and connected with appropriate batteries, and completingthe electric circuit through said traveler by means of wires connectedtherewith and with the balloon,substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

vCHARLES F. MOGLASHAN.

Witnesses:

G; P. TEBBETTs, WM. F. BOOTH.

